APC Rep Alleges Lawmakers Pay Up to ₦3 Million to Present Bills, Petitions

Rep. Ibrahim Auyo defends legislative record, says constituents must properly channel requests

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ibrahim Auyo, has alleged that Nigerian lawmakers are required to pay between ₦1 million and ₦3 million to present bills, motions, and petitions in the Green Chamber.

Auyo, who represents Hadejia/Auyo/Kafin Hausa Federal Constituency of Jigawa State under the All Progressives Congress (APC), made the claim during a meeting with his constituents. A video clip from the gathering, in which the lawmaker speaks in Hausa, has since gone viral.

Responding to criticism over his record of sponsoring bills, Auyo stated:

“Since I was elected as a member in 2015, no individual has given me a bill to pass, either from Auyo, Hadejia, or Kafin Hausa. They are just pretending.

“And also, even the bills and petitions are paid for. You have to pay from ₦3 million, ₦2 million, or ₦1 million to present it.

“And after you present the bill, you must follow up by lobbying the whole 360 members of the House to accept the bill.”

The lawmaker said he is open to legislative proposals from his constituency, provided they are properly routed through community leaders or designated representatives.

“For the bills, I give each community the chance to present theirs. They should sit with their community leaders, write down their needs, and bring them to me in Auyo.

“Even if I am not in Auyo and I am in Abuja, they should delegate two or three people from the LGA to meet my team so we can confirm it is from the constituency and see if I can address it or not.”

Auyo added that he is willing to sponsor bills if they are legitimate and well-documented.

Defending himself against allegations that he has failed to provide employment opportunities to constituents, the lawmaker stated:

“That is not true. Whoever says I didn’t help our youths is lying. Those I helped know themselves, and I can’t satisfy all.

“Even God that creates us [did not make us equal]. Look at your five fingers; they are not the same, so you can’t satisfy all.”

He also insisted that the majority of his empowerment initiatives were targeted at young people:

“I do distribute my things [empowerment] myself, and 80 percent out of 100 percent is for youths, I swear to almighty Allah.

“My first motorcycle and car distribution was distributed to the youths. No single elderly person benefited. Just recently, during the governor’s empowerment in Auyo LGA, all the beneficiaries were youths.”

However, he lamented that some youth beneficiaries sold the items they received.

“You bought [an empowerment item] at ₦300,000; they sell it for ₦150,000 immediately after collecting it.”

Auyo urged his constituents to collaborate with him for the remainder of his term, which runs until 2027, while warning against personal attacks on political leaders.

“I urge people to work collectively as a team, to submit their requests to me or even through others. In fact, it is me now, and by God’s grace, until 2027, it will still be me.

“Insulting leaders for personal reasons is wrong. Some people, if not for politics, are too small to insult you.

“My advice to the youth is this: when you insult someone’s father today, tomorrow someone will insult your own father. When you insult someone, you are insulting your own father—even if he is in his grave.”